About Johnston

If you have a unique vision for your education and believe in collaborative learning, Johnston might be the place for you.

The Johnston educational experiment started in 1969 and is based in the notion that students should have ownership of their education. At Johnston, we honor the individual path and the collective process. That means that students, faculty, and staff learn from each other, and we learn best when we learn together.

In the sophomore year, each Johnston student maps out a plan that brings together classes from multiple departments, experiential learning, and cross cultural experiences to fulfill an educational vision.

This Graduation Contract includes:

A vision for your education in the context of an intentional living-learning community.

An Emphasis that integrates your most pressing academic questions with existing classes from multiple departments and multiple modes of learning.

Liberal Arts Breadth to ensure your ability to see problems and questions from a variety of viewpoints.

A Cross Cultural Component that helps you to extend your cultural perspective and integrate multiple aspects of your education.

In your senior year, you revise your sophomore contract into your Graduation Narrative that describes what you studied, what you learned, your plans for the future, and how your time in the Johnston community and the wider university impacted your education.